Tethered
by ForeverAndEver783
Summary: Lydia's feelings for Stiles are not what she thought they were. In their senior year of high school, the two grow closer than ever before. But when Lydia begins having disturbing dreams of her friends, she realizes that something is coming to Beacon Hills. Together they all must find out what's coming to know how to stop the madness that is about to ensue.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. All characters are based off the TV show Teen Wolf on _MTV_.

"Remind me again - why am I taking college level Biology?" Stiles asked Lydia as he slammed his locker shut. "I mean, it's not like I need it to become Sheriff. I liked it better when we learned about simple things like cells." Stiles' Biology class had just finished and Lydia met him at his locker before heading to their next class.

Lydia rolled her eyes as she leaned back on a locker, "We'll technically we're always learning about cells one way or another – "

"Okay, yes. Sure, but I mean more like the simple cell things. Like, mitochondria. Tough word, but it's the POWERHOUSE of the cell," Stiles said in a tough voice, flexing his arms like a wrestler, "And ATP! BAM, it's energy! Stuff like that! It's way more fun then trying to remember all the different parts of a plant." Stiles sighed heavily then turned to face Lydia, who had started to laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" Stiles asked in an accusatory tone.

Lydia glanced at Stiles, shaking her head, "You're funny."

As Lydia started walking towards class, Stiles chased after her. _Oh no, I am so not going to let this go_ , he thought to himself.

"You think this is funny?" asked Stiles trying to keep up with Lydia, "While you are breezing though the hardest classes in school, I am literally dying in Biology. I repeat: D-Y-I-N-G." Stiles emphasized the word dying with huge arm gestures, which made him almost hit another student in the face. Lydia had to stop walking because she was laughing so hard. She brushed her strawberry blonde hair out of her face and then turned to smile at Stiles. It felt so natural being around Stiles. She didn't have to try and act in a certain way to make him want to hang out with her. He just did.

Lydia remembered what it was like when Allison started at Beacon Hills. Just a few years ago, Stiles followed Lydia around like a little puppy _. So many things have changed since then_ , she thought to herself. Stiles cared for who she was as a person. Now, after all that they have been though, he still cares. When she had to deal with Peter, he was there. When she had to let Jackson go, he was there. When she discovered that she was a Banshee and almost became a different person because of it, he was there. It was Stiles who orchestrated and executed the plan to save her from Eichen, even though she told him not to. If it wasn't for him, she would be dead. _It's like we have this special bond or something_ , she thought. Memories of when Scott, Alison, Isaac, Stiles and herself were all at the veterinary clinic, flashed in her mind. Deaton told her to go with Stiles. He said there needed to be a special bond for it to work, like an _emotional tether_.

Lydia was staring off into space when Stiles called her name, "Lydia! Hey, Lydia!" Stiles gently put his hand on her shoulder to get her attention. She turned her focus back on Stiles, looking first at his eyes then at his hand on her shoulder. "Lydia, you okay? Are you sensing anything?" Stiles asked with worry traced in his voice. It has been a few months since they last encountered problems with any form of supernatural beings. _Maybe something is coming_ , he thought. The mere thought of something supernatural coming to Beacon Hills made his stomach turn.

"Oh, no. It's not that. I was just thinking" Lydia told Stiles. He continued to look at her with worry.

"Are you sure?" he asked. Lydia looked back up at Stiles and smiled, "Yeah, it's all good. I'm good." Stiles let go of her shoulder and signed with relief.

 _At least I think I'm okay_ , she thought. The bell rang and they began walking to class. All she could feel was where Stiles' hand had been on her shoulder. The word _emotional tether_ flashed in her mind again. The minute the words came to her mind, she got butterflies in her stomach.

As they walked together down the hall, Lydia glanced at Stiles. _Oh boy_ , she thought. _No, I am definitely not alright._


	2. Chapter 2

Blackness. That was all Lydia could see. She reached her hand out in front of her, but felt nothing.

"Hello?" Lydia called out. She turned around and looked into the darkness, "Is anybody there?". She heard nothing. _Where am I_ , she thought. There was a huge flash of light above her. Lydia quickly looked up and saw a bright light shining down onto her. She had to squint to look around because the light was so bright. She turned her head away, searching for something to tell her where she was. Still there was nothing. All of a sudden, the light flashed and Lydia rushed to cover her head. When she moved her arms away from her face, she was face to face with a man. Horrified, Lydia jumped back. Before she let her fight or flight instincts take over, she realized who the man was.

"Scott! Thank God you're here! Where are we?" Lydia asked Scott as she ran up to him. Scott didn't move at all. He just stood there, staring straight out in front of him. "Scott?" Lydia reached out to grab his arm, but her hand passed right through him. Lydia gasped and retracted her hand. "Scott!", cried Lydia and tried to touch him again. Once again, her hand passed though him. It was as if he was made of air. She looked closely at his face and noticed that his eyes were black - just like the blackness she saw when she first came to this place.

His body began to fade in front of her. Without thinking, Lydia tried to grab at him again. "Scott! What's going on!?", Lydia cried out. Tears were steaming down her face as she tried to get his attention. All of a sudden Scott turned his gaze onto her, staring directly into her eyes. His face showed no trace of joy or recognition.

"Scott who?" he asked Lydia. Lydia stared with horror at what looked like Scott. _This isn't Scott_ , she thought. Lydia froze. _Wait a minute_ , she thought, _that doesn't sound like Scott_. The fading form of Scott tilted his head and took a step closer to Lydia, "Scott who?". Lydia took a nervous step back. "Scott who?" He repeated with a blank expression.

Out of shock, Lydia stopped moving. She stared at Scott with wide eyes. It wasn't Scott's voice speaking, Lydia realized, it was Stiles'. The voice sounded like Stiles. _Why does Scott sound like Stiles_ , she thought. Lydia could feel the panic spreading through her body. Her breathing quickened as tears continued to fall.

A sob escaped from her chest as she started to back away again. "What the hell is going on?" she screamed at the form in front of her. "This isn't real. You're not real!" she yelled in between sobs. The light flashed again and Lydia screamed. When she turned to looked back at Scott, he wasn't there. Instead, it was Stiles.

"Scott who?" he asked with the same blank expression that Scott had a few seconds ago. Her mind was swimming with confusion. "Stiles?" Lydia took a small step towards his still form. "What are yo-?

Before she could finish, she felt something hit her in the back of her head. Before she could blink, everything went black.

Lydia jumped up in bed, sobbing. Immediately she placed a hand to the back of her head. There was no bump. She turned and looked at the clock. It was 6:00am. Lydia took a deep breath, trying to clam her racing heart beat. _Something is wrong_ , she thought. She knew it was a dream, but there was something that felt off. Without another thought she grabbed her phone. _I should text Scott and Stiles_ , she thought. Lydia hoped they were alright.

Looking though her messages, she noticed that Stiles had sent her a blank message. Images flooded back into her mind from the dream. She wondered why it was Stiles's voice coming out of Scott's fading body. _Why did I dream that_ , she wondered. Her vibrating phone brought her back to the present. It was another blank text message from Stiles. Before she had the chance to type, she felt a cold chill run though her body. She froze. _Why did Scott not know who he was_ , she wondered. _Why did he sound like Stiles?_ She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _Why did Stiles not know who Scott was?_ Lydia looked down at her hands. She hadn't realized that they were trembling.

Lydia pushed the covers off and rushed towards the shower. She had to get ready for school. She was suppose to help Stiles with Biology during their spare morning class. She felt some relief knowing that she would see both Scott and Stiles soon.

In the bathroom, Lydia looked at herself in the mirror. _I have to tell them about my dream_ , she decided. She tried not to dwell on the dream as she got ready, but it was really bothering her. Lydia shook herself and sighed. "Just forget about it Lydia" she told herself out loud. Somewhere deep down, she knew that she couldn't leave it alone. Something was wrong, and she felt it. Just as she always does.


	3. Chapter 3

Stiles checked his phone for the third time. _8:55am_. Looking around the library, he scanned for Lydia. He wondered where she was. Lydia was never more than 10 minutes late for anything. Stiles sighed and looked down at his Biology textbook. The polar bear gracing the cover was staring right back at him, with big black eyes.

"What are you staring at?" Stiles asked the textbook. The guy sitting next to Stiles in the library looked up from his laptop and turned to Stiles. "What?" the guy asked.

Stiles looked up from his textbook towards the guy. It was Matthew, a fellow senior. With a bored look on his face Stiles responded, "Oh, it's nothing. It's all good." He glanced back down at his textbook, at the polar bear. Stiles squinted at it and then looked back at the guy. The guy glanced at the text book and then turned his gaze back onto Stiles. He squinted at Stiles and turned his head slightly with a definite "you're crazy" look on his face. _Yup, I am going crazy_ , Stiles thought to himself. Stiles rolled his eyes and then turned back towards Matthew, "What?! Just a good old conversation with Biology going on here. Doesn't concern _you_ ". Stiles stared at Matthew until he looked back down at his laptop. "Sheesh" Stiles said to himself and turned to check his phone. He turned to scan the room again and saw Lydia walking through the doors.

Lydia immediately saw Stiles when she walked into the library. He was sitting alone at a table by the stairs. There was a flicker of something in her stomach as she looked at him. His brown hair was spiked slightly at the front, as it always was. Her eyes travelled down from his hair to his blue plaid shirt. Underneath the plaid was a navy blue t-shirt. _Stiles._ She stared at his familiar form. Just looking at him eased the anxiety she felt about the disturbing dream she had last night. Not only did being near him ease her mood, but it made her heart do a little jump. She couldn't help but stare at him.

"Hey, Lydia! Over here!" Stiles yelled across the library.

"Shhhh!" a couple of people shot back at Stiles.

"Sorry!" Stiles whispered loudly back at the people. Lydia rolled her eyes and sighed. _Oh Stiles_ , she thought to herself and walked over to him.

"Hey" she said to him as she threw her bag on the table and sat down beside him.

"You're extremely late. Very unlike you, you know" Stiles said to Lydia as she dug through her bags. "You missed a very interesting conversation with Mr. Polar bear here" Stiles said jabbing a finger at the cover of his book. "I think he's scolding me for doodling in the book during class yesterday. Well, too bad so sad" he told the polar bear on the front cover. "Matthew over there wasn't too impressed with my conversation" Stiles said and glanced over his peer's direction. Lydia opened her own book and then looked up at Stiles. "Well, it could have been worse. Maybe he was telling you to study!" Lydia said with a smirk on her face. Despite the humor in her voice, she looked absolutely exhausted. The first thing Stiles noticed when she looked at him were her bloodshot eyes. The humor in his face vanished and turned into concern.

"Woah, are you okay?" he asked Lydia, bending forward to get a closer look at her face. She rubbed her eyes and then crossed her arms. She sighed, "Yeah. Just a little tired." she told him. He turned his body to face hers, and pointed at her eyes, "Yeah, I can see that. Your eyes are really red. Did you get any sleep at all last night?".

"No," she confessed, "Not really. I had this weird dream. You were in it, actually."

Stiles perked up when he heard that he was in Lydia's dream. "You had a dream about me?" he asked her. "Wow! I'm flattered." A small smirk played at the corner of his mouth. Lydia glanced up to look at Stiles, "Oh, come on. It was nothing like that." She rolled her eyes at Stiles as he started laughing. "Seriously though, it was really weird." She started fidgeting nervously. _I have to tell him_ , she thought.

Lydia looked into Stiles' eyes. His chocolate brown eyes were staring into hers. The little butterflies in her stomach surged again. _No_ , she thought. _Not right now_. She didn't want to spoil what could be a fun morning with Stiles. Even if he hated studying Biology, she loved spending the time with him. After everything that's happened, their little study dates have been some of the only times she could spend alone with him in peace.

"Okay. Well then, what was it about?" he asked her. He turned and rested his face in his hand, ready to listen. "It obviously wasn't a good dream."

"How about we talk about it later? I don't really want to get into it now. Plus, you have to study. You can't study when your head is somewhere else." Lydia suggested to Stiles. She laughed nervously trying to change the subject. Stiles squinted his eyes at her and pushed out his lips. _Hmmm_ , he thought. _Alright, later it is then._

"Fine, we'll talk about it later if you want. But I won't forget, so don't fall asleep on me" he told her. Lydia laughed and looked down at her hands.

Straightening up, Stiles slapped his hands on his textbook. "Alright Mr. Polar bear, let's do this!". As he tore open the textbook, Lydia couldn't keep her eyes off of him. Although the butterflies fluttered in her stomach, she felt something else as well. Deep down in the pit of her stomach, there was fear. Fear of her dream. Fear of what's to come. She can distract herself as much as she wants to, but she knows the fear will never go away. Something is coming to Beacon Hills. She just has to find out what.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** For all of the chapters in this story, all the characters belong to _MTV'_ s show Teen Wolf. I do not claim ownership of these characters or any rights to the original plot.

 **Note:** One of the songs listened to while writing this was _Your Soul_ by RHODES.

"Now everyone, who can explain to me what Socratic Irony is? Anybody?"

Lydia and Scott sat in their senior Philosophy class, the last class of the day. One student gingerly raised his hand, "Isn't it the process Socrates uses to make people think about their own questions? He, uh... answers a question with another question, never really answering anything at all?"

As their teacher, Mr. Morgan, began discussing the topic, Scott looked around the class to see who was actually paying attention.

"Anybody else have an idea?" asked Mr. Morgan, "Lydia?". Everybody including Scott turned towards Lydia when she didn't answer. Lydia, who usually participates in class, was staring towards the front of the room. "Lydia?" he asked her again.

Scott, who was sitting next to her, reached over and quietly tapped her on the shoulder. "Lydia!" he whispered to her. Lydia didn't respond. _That's odd_ , he thought. Even though she was staring towards the chalk board, her eyes didn't seem to be focused on it. Scott has seen this look on her before, when her Banshee powers begin to take control."Lydia!" Scott repeated and tapped her arm again.

Lydia continued to stare ahead in an unfocused gaze. All of a sudden, three words quietly escaped her lips, "They are coming". Her eye lids began to flutter and her head began to twitch. "They are coming" she repeated. Quickly, the class began to stare at her in confusion. Scott felt a familiar sense of dread swirl in his stomach. _The last time something like this happened... No_ , he thought. _Not again._

Scott swung his legs around in his seat and grabbed Lydia by the shoulders. He gave her a hard shake, "Lydia, wake up!". Nothing happened. He shook her again. Nothing happened. _Why isn't she waking up?_ "Lydia!" Scott called a little louder.

All of a sudden, Lydia's eyes refocused and she turned toward Scott. Her entire body began to tremble. Her eyes were wide and filled with fear. Lydia looked around the class in total shock from just happened. The only person who was looking at her as if she still had some sanity, was Scott.

"Are you okay?" he asked, releasing her shoulders. Before she answered, he glanced around the classroom. Everyone's confused faces and judging stares we're directed right towards Lydia. A flicker of anger clouded his thoughts for a moment. _If only they knew what she was,_ he thought in her defence.

A single tear fell down Lydia's cheek. Panic and fear crept higher up her throat. _I have to get out of here_ , she thought to herself. Her eyes darted around the room, jumping between the students who were gawking at her. Quickly, Lydia shoved out of her seat and bolted from the room.

"Lydia! Lydia!" Mr. Morgan called after her. Just as Scott started to go after her, Mr. Morgan held up a hand and told him to sit. "Let's give her some space, Scott."

"But she's upset! And class is almost over! I have to go and talk to her, to make sure she's okay!" Scott shot back at him in frustration.

"Yes. Clearly Lydia is upset but I don't want anyone else leaving the class. If you leave now, you will have to stay after school in detention for skipping class. You can speak with her AFTER class. Is that understood, Mr. McCall?". Scott shoved back into his seat and began to think. He knew that leaving now would only make things worse for the situation. _How can I... - STILES!_ Scott knew that Stiles would be able to get to Lydia as fast as possible.

"Now, I would like everyone else to pay attention for these last couple of minutes. These readings for homework are going to be on the final exam, so I expect you all to know and understand them well."

Scott took out his phone under his desk as his teacher began writing on the chalk board, quickly sending a text to Stiles: _Lydia bolted from class. She was stuck in a trance and then pulled out of it. Stiles, she was terrified. I tried to leave but I can't. He'll make me stay after school if I do. You need to get to her._ Worry boiled in the pit of his stomach. He knew something was really wrong.

Unlike Lydia and Scott, Stiles was in Law class working on an assignment. It was almost the end of class when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. It was a text message from Scott.

 _\- Forty seconds left of class -_

As his eyes reached the end of the message, he was already getting up from his seat.

 _\- Thirty seconds -_

 _Lydia_ , he thought. _I have to get to Lydia_. Panic coursed through his body as he ran out of class.

 _\- Twenty seconds -_

His muscles pumped as fast has they could. _Go_ , he thought. _Faster! FASTER!_

 _\- Ten seconds -_

The doors swung open and Stiles started running towards his Jeep.

 _\- Five seconds -_

Just as he rounded the corner of the parking lot, he was forced to an abrupt stop. In front of him was a man in a long black coat and a tall black hat. He was standing in the middle of the parking lot, looking at his pocket watch.

 _\- Three seconds -_

The man looked up and looked straight at Stiles.

 _\- Tick -_

Stiles stood, staring right back at the man.

 _\- Tock -_

The man snapped his pocket watch shut as the school bell rang. Stiles didn't even hear it ring. All he could hear was a piercing scream - Lydia's scream. Stiles flinched and his arms instinctively flew up to cover his ears from the pain of her Banshee scream.

When Stiles turned back up to look at the man, he was gone. Stiles pulled out his phone and punched in Lydia's number as fast as he could. She answered in a whisper on the second ring, " _Stiles_ ".

"I heard you. Lydia, where are you?" he asked as he ran his hands though his hair in a panic.

"Your Jeep".

Stiles ended the call and started sprinting towards his Jeep.

As he ran, a hushed voice lingered in the air.

"We are coming.", it hissed. "We are coming".


End file.
